nm-settings-keyfile

title: nm-settings-keyfile(5)

summary: Description of keyfile settings plugin

text:
# nm-settings-keyfile(5)

## NAME
nm-settings-keyfile - Description of keyfile settings plugin

## DESCRIPTION
NetworkManager is based on the concept of connection profiles that contain network configuration (see nm-settings-nmcli(5) for details). The profiles can be stored in various formats. NetworkManager uses plugins for reading and writing the data. The plugins can be configured in NetworkManager.conf(5).

The keyfile plugin is the generic plugin that supports all the connection types and capabilities that NetworkManager has. The files are in a .ini-style format and located in /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/, /usr/lib/NetworkManager/system-connections/ and /run/NetworkManager/system-connections/. This plugin is always enabled and will automatically be used to store any connections that are not supported by any other active plugin. For security, it will ignore files that are readable or writable by any user other than 'root' since private keys and passphrases may be stored in plaintext inside the file.

## FILE FORMAT
The keyfile config format is a simple .ini-style format. It consists of sections (groups) of key-value pairs. More information of the generic key file format can be found at GLib key file format[1] (Lines beginning with a '#' are comments, lists are separated by character ; etc.).

Each section corresponds to a setting name as described in the settings specification (nm-settings-nmcli(5)). Each key/value pair in a section is one of the properties from the specification.

The majority of properties are written in the same format as the specification into the keyfile. However, some values are inconvenient for people to use so they are stored in the keyfile in more readable ways. These properties that differ from the specification are described below. An example could be IP addresses that are not written as integer arrays, but more reasonably as "1.2.3.4/12 1.2.3.254". Also, some lists of complex values (addresses, routes, routing-rules), instead of using a semicolon separated list, use one key-value pair per list element, with the key being the singular of the property name followed by the numeric index (i.e address1, address2, ...).

Users can create or modify the keyfile connection files manually, even if that is not the recommended way of managing the profiles. However, if they choose to do that, they must inform NetworkManager about their changes (for example via nmcli con (re)load).

Examples of keyfile configuration.

```
A sample configuration for an ethernet network:
[connection]
id=Main eth0
uuid=27afa607-ee36-43f0-b8c3-9d245cdc4bb3
type=802-3-ethernet
autoconnect=true
[ipv4]
method=auto
[802-3-ethernet]
mac-address=00:23:5a:47:1f:71

```

```
A sample configuration for WPA-EAP (PEAP with MSCHAPv2) and always-ask secret:
[connection]
id=CompanyWIFI
uuid=cdac6154-a33b-4b15-9904-666772cfa5ee
type=wifi
autoconnect=false
[wifi]
ssid=CorpWLAN
mode=infrastructure
security=802-11-wireless-security
[wifi-security]
key-mgmt=wpa-eap
[ipv4]
method=auto
[ipv6]
method=auto
[802-1x]
eap=peap;
identity=joe
ca-cert=/home/joe/.cert/corp.crt
phase1-peapver=1
phase2-auth=mschapv2
password-flags=2

```

```
A sample configuration for openvpn:
[connection]
id=RedHat-openvpn
uuid=7f9b3356-b210-4c0e-8123-bd116c9c280f
type=vpn
timestamp=1385401165
[vpn]
service-type=org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.openvpn
connection-type=password
password-flags=3
remote=ovpn.my-company.com
cipher=AES-256-CBC
reneg-seconds=0
port=443
username=joe
ca=/etc/openvpn/ISCA.pem
tls-remote=ovpn.my-company.com
[ipv6]
method=auto
[ipv4]
method=auto
ignore-auto-dns=true
never-default=true

```

```
A sample configuration for a bridge and a bridge port:
[connection]                                 [connection]
id=MainBridge                                id=br-port-1
uuid=171ae855-a0ab-42b6-bd0c-60f5812eea9d    uuid=d6e8ae98-71f8-4b3d-9d2d-2e26048fe794
interface-name=MainBridge                    interface-name=em1
type=bridge                                  type=ethernet

                                             controller=MainBridge
[bridge]                                     port-type=bridge
interface-name=MainBridge

```

```
A sample configuration for a VLAN:
[connection]
id=VLAN for building 4A
uuid=8ce1c9e0-ce7a-4d2c-aa28-077dda09dd7e
interface-name=VLAN-4A
type=vlan
[vlan]
interface-name=VLAN-4A
parent=eth0
id=4

```

## DETAILS
keyfile plugin variables for the majority of NetworkManager properties have one-to-one mapping. It means a NetworkManager property is stored in the keyfile as a variable of the same name and in the same format. There are several exceptions to this rule, mainly for making keyfile syntax easier for humans. The exceptions handled specially by keyfile plugin are listed below. Refer to nm-settings-nmcli(5) for all available settings and properties and their description.

Name aliases. Some of the NetworkManager setting names are somewhat hard to type or remember. Therefore keyfile introduces aliases that can be used instead of the names.

setting name keyfile alias

802-3-ethernet = ethernet

802-11-wireless = wifi

802-11-wireless-security = wifi-security

Table 1. 802-11-wireless setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

ssid

string (or decimal-byte list - obsolete)

SSID of Wi-Fi network. Example: ssid=Quick Net

mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:A2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;162).

cloned-mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

Cloned MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:B2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;178).

mac-address-blacklist

list of MACs (separated with semicolons)

MAC address blacklist. Example: mac-address-blacklist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78

mac-address-denylist

list of MACs (separated with semicolons)

MAC address denylist. Example: mac-address-denylist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78

Table 2. 802-3-ethernet setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:A2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;162)

cloned-mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

Cloned MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:B2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;178).

mac-address-blacklist

list of MACs (separated with semicolons)

MAC address blacklist. Example: mac-address-blacklist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78

mac-address-denylist

list of MACs (separated with semicolons)

MAC address denylist. Example: mac-address-denylist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78

Table 3. bridge setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation, or semicolon separated list of 6 decimal bytes (obsolete) Example: mac-address=00:22:68:12:79:A2 mac-address=0;34;104;18;121;162;

Table 4. connection setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

uuid

uuid

UUID for the connection profile. When missing, NetworkManager creates the UUID by hashing the connection filename. Example: uuid=7bdbe39a-126c-3f94-ac5e-8f156ed38383

Table 5. infiniband setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation, or semicolon separated list of 20 decimal bytes (obsolete) Example: mac-address= 80:00:00:6d:fe:80:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:02:55:00:70:33:cf:01

Table 6. ipv4 setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

dns

dns

list of DNS IP addresses

List of DNS servers. Example: dns=1.2.3.4;8.8.8.8;8.8.4.4;

addresses

address1, address2, ...

address/prefix-length[,gateway]

Static IPv4 addresses, one address per variable. The variables can also contain the gateway after a comma or semicolon; it is recommended to use the "gateway" variable instead. Example: address1=192.168.100.100/24 address2=10.1.1.5/16 address1=192.168.100.100/24,192.168.100.1

gateway

gateway

string

Gateway IP address as a string. The gateway can be also specified in one of the "address1", "address2", etc. variables after the address, separated by a comma or semicolon (for example "address1=192.168.100.1/24,192.168.100.254"). The value from the "gateway" variable takes precedence over any gateway specified in one of the "address*" variables. Example: gateway=192.168.100.254

routes

route1, route2, ...

route/plen[,gateway,metric]

List of IP routes. Example: route1=8.8.8.0/24,10.1.1.1,77 route2=7.7.0.0/16

routes (attributes)

route1_options, route2_options, ...

key=val[,key=val...]

Attributes defined for the routes, if any. The supported attributes are explained in ipv4.routes entry in `man nm-settings-nmcli`. Example: route1_options=mtu=1000,onlink=true

routing-rules

routing-rule1, routing-rule2, ...

routing rule string

Routing rules as defined with `ip rule add`, but with mandatory fixed priority. The "lookup" and "table" options don't support a table name, only a number. Example: routing-rule1=priority 5 from 192.167.4.0/24 table 45

Table 7. ipv6 setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

dns

list of DNS IP addresses

List of DNS servers. Example: dns=2001:4860:4860::8888;2001:4860:4860::8844;

addresses

address1, address2, ...

address/plen[,gateway]

Static IPv6 addresses, one address per variable. The variables can also contain the gateway after a comma or semicolon; it is recommended to use the "gateway" variable instead. Example: address1=abbe::cafe/96 address2=2001::1234/56 address1=fd01::2000/64;fd01::1

gateway

gateway

string

Gateway IP address as a string. The gateway can be also specified in one of the "address1", "address2", etc. variables after the address, separated by a comma or semicolon (for example "address1=fd01::2000/64;fd01::1"). The value from the "gateway" variable takes precedence over any gateway specified in one of the "address*" variables. Example: gateway=abbe::1

routes

route1, route2, ...

route/plen[,gateway,metric]

List of IP routes. Example: route1=2001:4860:4860::/64,2620:52:0:2219:222:68ff:fe11:5403

routes (attributes)

route1_options, route2_options, ...

key=val[,key=val...]

Attributes defined for the routes, if any. The supported attributes are explained in ipv6.routes entry in `man nm-settings-nmcli`. Example: route1_options=mtu=1000,onlink=true

routing-rules

routing-rule1, routing-rule2, ...

routing rule string

Routing rules as defined with `ip rule add`, but with mandatory fixed priority. Example: routing-rule1=priority 5 from 2001:4860:4860::/64 table 45

Table 8. serial setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

parity

'e', 'o', or 'n'

The connection parity; even, odd, or none. Note that older versions of NetworkManager stored this as an integer: 69 ('E') for even, 111 ('o') for odd, or 110 ('n') for none. Example: parity=n

Table 9. vpn setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

data

separate variables named after keys of the dictionary

The keys of the data dictionary are used as variable names directly under [vpn] section. Example: remote=ovpn.corp.com cipher=AES-256-CBC username=joe

secrets

separate variables named after keys of the dictionary

The keys of the secrets dictionary are used as variable names directly under [vpn-secrets] section. Example: password=Popocatepetl

Table 10. wifi-p2p setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

peer

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:A2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;162).

Table 11. wpan setting (section)

Property

Keyfile Variable

Format

Description

mac-address

usual hex-digits-and-colons notation

MAC address in hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 76:d8:9b:87:66:60:84:ee).

### Secret flags
Each secret property in a NetworkManager setting has an associated

flags property that describes how to handle that secret. In the keyfile plugin, the value of -flags variable is a decimal number (0 - 7) defined as a sum of the following values:

•0 - (NM owned) - the system is responsible for providing and storing this secret.

•1 - (agent-owned) - a user-session secret agent is responsible for providing and storing this secret; when it is required, agents will be asked to provide it.

•2 - (not-saved) - this secret should not be saved but should be requested from the user each time it is required.

•4 - (not-required) - in some situations it cannot be automatically determined that a secret is required or not. This flag hints that the secret is not required and should not be requested from the user.

## FILES
/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*

## SEE ALSO
nm-settings-nmcli(5), nm-settings-ifcfg-rh(5), NetworkManager(8), NetworkManager.conf(5), nmcli(1), nmcli-examples(7)

## NOTES
1.

GLib key file format

https://developer.gnome.org/glib/stable/glib-Key-value-file-parser.html#glib-Key-value-file-parser.description